At 50, Cyrille Haynes is about to embark on a new career path.
Last Saturday he hosted an official function to mark the launch of Haynes Apartments, a pristine apartment complex situated at 3 Garnett Street Campbelville.
Haynes Apartments is, in every sense of the world, “a family business.” What is now a tastefully-remodelled complex of flats was once the Haynes family home. Cyrille, who now resides at Enmore, on the East Coast Demerara, thought it was the best way of “keeping it in the family.”
The finished product, which includes an extension and the overall modernisation of the complex, is, in large measure, the handiwork of Cyrille himself, a contractor by profession. More than that, it is a multi-million dollar investment that seeks to add to the surfeit of urban accommodation complexes that have mushroomed in Georgetown and its environs since the 2007 Cricket World Cup.
Haynes says that his apartment complex seeks to conform to the high standards that are necessary to attract visitors to Guyana. “Our aim is to offer the best we can to our customers. The truth is we are aiming at longer-term contracts, the types that have to do with foreigners coming to Guyana to work. Of course we don’t want to make it seem as though we are exclusive to that type of tenant; but it’s more convenient.”
The Haynes apartment complex comprises nine apartments, six two-bedroom apartments, one three-bedroom apartment, one single-bedroom apartment with kitchenette and one single-bedroom apartment on its own. While the official opening took place last week, Haynes says that he has postponed the actual opening to guests until September 1. “I will not offer the flats to guests until I am completely satisfied that everything is in place,” he said.
In the weeks ahead, he intends to intensify a marketing campaign that commenced some time ago with the help of relatives and friends residing abroad. The remainder of his search for the right clientele will extend to diplomatic missions and international organisations based in Guyana as well as investors and potential investors visiting Guyana.
The launch of Haynes Apartments has provided the proprietor with a new vocational direction. He has decided to manage the enterprise himself and has created an office within the complex. Haynes says that he is only too willing to learn to manage the establishment. In the meantime, he is hoping that the opening of Haynes Apartments marks the start of a successful business enterprise.
